GT & Sports Car Cup Race Report: Dodds Hand Pearsons Victory in Thunderous GTSCC Opener - Silverstone 2023
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR RACE WINNERS
Silverstone GP Circuit - 11th June 2023
John Pearson Jr & Gary Pearson
The opening race of the GT & Sports Car Cup series’ 17th season boiled down to a battle between two local Jaguar dynasties on the Silverstone Historic Grand Prix circuit on Sunday, June 11. Watched by a huge gathering of MG and Triumph owners - who had made the pilgrimage to the BRDC’s “Home of British Motor Racing” from far and wide to celebrate their beloved marques’ centenaries - Oxfordshire lad-and-dad James and Graeme Dodd just about had the legs of their rivals in the E-type duel. But two stop-and-go penalties for speeding in the pit lane gifted gold to Northamptonshire brothers John and Gary Pearson.
“It was a great race in unusual conditions, “but their fourth stop gave it to us,” said Gary, who unexpectedly double-stinted to the chequered flag, setting fastest lap of 2m26.141s (89.65mph) two laps from home. “Rain falling anywhere between the Hangar Straight and Woodcote in the middle of the race, changing every lap, and high winds like mini-cyclones kicking up dust storms, made it hard to see. Expecting a deluge we planned to change rear tyres at the first stop. That cost us time [about 25 seconds to the Dodds], but when I came in for the second [under a safety car] John was due to finish. Instead I found him standing with his overalls round his waist holding a leaf blower in the heat, so I had to stay in.”
Stopped eight minutes short of its scheduled 90-minute duration with an electrical storm swirling threateningly round the campus’ fringes, the race result was backdated to 30 laps. The Pearsons were heralded as victors in their hard-topped roadster, 11.212 seconds ahead of Richard Kent/Joe Osborne, sharing the former’s famous ex-Dick Protheroe fixed-head coupe CUT 7, run in period from County Motors in Husbands Bosworth, near Rugby. Incredibly, the chastened Dodds still finished second on the road, James having repassed Richard, but winding the counter back a lap at the end per Motorsport UK statutes exacerbated the irony, leaving them 4.419s adrift. “What should have been first turned to second, then second became third. All my fault, but still good fun,” said Graeme.
Austin-Healey 3000s scored a clean sweep in the GT3 division. Mark Holme and Jeremy Welch - whose family Denis Welch Motorsport business supported fabulous hospitality for competitors, families and friends - finished a brilliant sixth overall, behind the AC Cobra Daytona Coupe of David Smithies/Chris Clarkson and Robin Ellis’ Lotus Elan Shapecraft Coupe, anchored by Julian Thomas, from over the Buckinghamshire county line which bisects the Formula 1 venue. GT3 runners-up Crispin Harris/James Wilmoth finished on the same lap, with Mark Pangborn/Harvey Woods just 4.749s behind.
TVR Grantura teams disputed the early GT2 lead, soloist Joe Ward quickly passing Malcolm Paul’s sister car, which seasoned hotshoe Rick Bourne had qualified on his customary class pole. Oliver Marçais gave the MG Car Club masses plenty to cheer when he forged his B Roadster between the Blackpool-built machines. Oliver finished second in class behind Ward, with the similar cars of Mark Hope/Jason Minshaw and husband-and-wife Brian and Barbara Lambert at his heels.
The little 1220cc Lola-Climax Mk1 of Ollie Crosthwaite and Nick Finburgh was unopposed in the Sports Car entry. Nonetheless, the duo enjoyed a strong run to 13th place in the 37-car field, exceptional in quantity - when was the last time 12 Jaguar E-types graced an open race - quality and driver conduct.
QUALIFYING
By popular request, we again subscribed to a half-hour session on race morning to ease logistics - and Jaguar E-type crews locked-out the top five grid places. James Dodd snatched the coveted P1 from the Pearsons, his 2:25.673 (89.93mph) prime lap more than four seconds inside Gordie Mutch’s 2022 pole time, set in John Clark’s semi-lightweight Jaguar. A year bar one day on, the top seven teams recorded times within 2m30s. Mark Donnor, who originally entered his Lister-Jaguar and enlisted Oliver Bryant to co-drive, substituted his E, which Olly whirled round within 0.680s of Dodd Jr to bag the other front row slot at his final attempt.
Pro Osborne in Kent’s car, the Pearson boys and Lee Mowle/Phil Keen were embroiled in the 2:27s, with the snarling 4.7-litre AC Cobra of Chris Chiles - still tender following a Porsche racing prang in New Zealand, which left him with broken ribs and pneumonia - and Chris Jr sixth in the 28s. The agile blue Ellis/Thomas Elan derivative was next up on a stout 2:29.914, courtesy of Racelogic V-Box founder Julian. The controversial new MSUK track limits regulations were enforced and bit hard. Three of the top six forfeited their best lap and Thomas two as nine teams were penalised by the clerks for overstepping the white lines.
Ben and Peter Adams’ E-type, the Smithies/Clarkson Tour de France tribute-tribute-liveried Cobra coupe [recovered and fighting fit after Chris’ Spa Six Hours practice whoopsie last autumn] and the Finburgh/Crosthwaite Lola - on a momentum-underlined 2:33.263 (85.48mph) which as ever proved the remarkable dynamics of marque founder Eric Broadley’s Lotus beater - rounded out the top 10.
Holme/Welch set the GT3 standard, their 2:34.178s (84.97mph) securing 11th overall, fractionally under a second ahead of Porsche expert Mark ‘Blaster’ Bates in Paul Pochciol’s early-spec E-type, with Nick Sleep’s GT4 Shelby Mustang GT350 separating them. Jamie Boot’s GT4 E-type sat 14th, ahead of Dutchmen Christiaen van Lanschot/Karsten Le Blanc in their gruff British Racing Green Healey ‘DD300,’ with Jason Minshaw in Martin Melling’s E-type FHC third in the division, a scant 0.09s slower.
Scots Clark and Mutch suffered a gearbox failure in John’s GT4 Jag, thus sought permission to switch to his early GT3 car, to which stewards duly acquiesced. The big Healeys of Harris/Wilmoth, husband-and-wife Mike Thorne/Sarah Bennett-Baggs and Pangborn/Woods were covered by 0.123 at the line-up’s mid-point, Harris’ Crispy Moth Racing machine topping the trio on the final lap. Canadian Read Gomm’s GT4 E-type low-drag coupe, shared by Andy Keith-Lucas, was half a second adrift, three places up on Marc Gordon’s Portugese-historied E-type roadster, shared as usual with Classic Autos’ Nick Finburgh.
The red TVR Grantura of Paul/Bourne led the GT2 set, Rick’s outstanding 2:40.595 a full 3.3 seconds quicker than Marçais’ MG B, with the GT3 Triumph TR4 of Allan and Daniel Ross-Jones a buffer between them after they, too, lost two laps for going off piste. Oliver was shadowed by the Hope/Jason Minshaw version, whilst Ward was a comfortable fourth in class, ahead of the Bs of Daniel and Dennis Pickett, mentored by the talented David Brise, Nick and Chris Thompson and the Lamberts. Beverley Phillips and son Ollie - supported, rather than joined, by husband/father Chris nursing a back injury - and the natty Morgan Plus 4 Super Sports of Simon King/Peter Cole completed the division in the company of GT3 competitors Tony and Pia Bianchi (A-H 3000) and Christopher Scholey/Rob Newall (Jaguar XK120).
Three cars also contested the 1300cc Touring Car invitation class. Richard and Alice Locke’s pretty Mini-based Broadspeed GTS coupe and Cooper S - shared with Matt and David Green respectively joined Ellie Birchenhough’s Dorset Racing Cooper S, shared by partner Jack Williamson and ERA/Cooper racer Nick Topliss. They were swiftest of the trio on 2:46.517 (78.68mph). Ralph Broad’s brainchild was 0.839s behind and the Locke Mini in touch, which augured well for a feisty afternoon’s sport.
RACE
Leading the stampede from the rolling start, James Dodd held a tenuous advantage over John Pearson at the end of the first lap, with Kent and Chiles Jr leading the chase before Donnor, Smithies and Ben Adams’s transponders triggered TSL’s timing system. Holme led Minshaw (starting Melling’s Jag) and Thorne in GT3, while Ward - from 27th - took a lap to wipe out the five-grid place deficit to Paul in GT2, before sweeping past on lap two, taking Marçais with him.
Out front, Dodd broke the tow - a powerful weapon on the Hangar and Wellington Straights - on lap three, and proceeded to extend his lead over Pearson and Chiles, who took seven tours to depose Kent, to the first round of pitstops. Meanwhile, Harris had growled his Healey up to second in GT3, passing Thorne before the pit window opened, with Le Blanc making up good ground too. Finburgh’s exceptional first lap in Marc Gordon'e E-Type saw him gain nine places in the Jaguar, before the quicker Healeys picked him off. Out early, incidentally, were the Thompsons’ MGB, Sleep’s Shelby and Clark’s second-string E-type with a blown head gasket.
The first mass influx occurred after 14 laps, Kent, Donnor, Smithies, Ellis, Mowle and class leader Holme peeling into the heritage pit lane from fourth to ninth places respectively. Boot, often a late caller, stayed out, but pursuers Harris and Le Blanc dived in for the first of two mandatory stops, with no minimum stipulation for driver changes. Meanwhile, Marçais had stopped a lap before Ward, Paul and Brian Lambert as the GT2 battle evolved. James Dodd and John Pearson came in 12.37s apart, putting Chiles ahead in the dark blue Cobra.
That is where the problems started for equipe Dodd. As Graeme took the wheel of his dark green Jaguar, he accelerated out of the pits just before the control line at Woodcote, triggering the speed trap. “We have 60 kph (37mph) in second gear marked on the rev counter, but I went just too early,” he said. “I drove quite well on the track, but my pit experience let us down. James had a few spots of rain on the screen, but I found serious water on the exit of Stowe. On the approach to Club [on a hot afternoon] steam was coming up from the surface, which made it difficult to see the kerbs. Moments later the track was dry again.
“When I saw the IN board, I came in next time round from the lead [under a full-course caution at 23 laps, the Cobra having stopped after 18], to find the boys frantically waving me through. I thought what’s going on? Only later did I discover it was a drive-through penalty. The following lap I returned [1.5s behind the Pearsons with the race still under the safety car, deployed for marshals to recover Boot’s abandoned three-wheeled Jag and Pia Bianchi’s Healey which had suffered king pin failure a lap apart] and James jumped back in.”
The race turned from yellow to green after Dodd Jr, Gary Pearson and Kent had crossed the timing line at Woodcote for the 25th time, and James repelled Pearson before his crew delivered the bombshell that in leaving the pits from his penalty his father had sped again, necessitating another drive through. Thus James dutifully made the #121 car’s third stop in seven laps, completing his out circuit 15 seconds from the lead and 4.4s adrift of Kent. He knuckled down to pass CUT 7 on lap 31, but with electric storms forking earthwards, fizzing alarmingly in the air around the campus, and thunder cracking on its fringes Silverstone personnel took the decision to red flag the race.
Declared on count back to the previous full lap, the results showed the Pearsons victorious, from Kent/Osborne and the Dodds, who didn’t go home empty-handed as winners of the Royal Automobile Club Family Award for endeavour. Smithies/Clarkson enjoyed a superb run to fourth, with Ellis/Thomas less than 12 seconds adrift and also on the lead lap.
A lap down, GT3 winners Holme/Welch finished an outstanding sixth, ahead of the Jaguars of Donnor/Bryant and Mowle/Keen. The Healey struggle behind Mark and Jeremy went all the way. Harris/Wilmoth overtook Le Blanc/Van Lanschot and Pangborn/Woods on successive laps to reach second in class with two to spare. Being promoted to ninth was a surprise for Crispin and James, for the Chiles Cobra was bumped to 11th - between the next Healeys - having accrued 45 seconds of penalties for too track limits infringements and an over-long opening stint. “We came here to ease Chris back into the car and when the storm came [at the end of his middle stanza] we were quite prepared to put it on wet settings for Junior, but the rain stopped at garage eight,” said team chief Gary Spencer.
The Crosthwaite/Finburgh Lola ran like a sewing machine to 13th clear of Thorne/B-B, Pochciol/Bates, the Adams family, the Ross-Jones TR, gallant GT2 winner “Giuseppe” Ward’s TVR and the Gordon/Finburgh Jaguar, hit by a 30 second imposition for speeding in the pits, in lieu of a drive through.
The GT2 fight was far from straightforward, for pole-setter Bourne fought his way back past Marçais and Ward to lead the division before relaying car owner Paul into the red Grantura for a short run to the end. “With rain between the exit of Stowe and Abbey, and the sun straight in the drivers’ eyes, it was tricky to see Club. At one point, Joe said he came close to going off there and I nearly followed him,” said Rick. As the victorious Ward completed his 28th lap, the MGBs of Marçais, Hope and Brian Lambert scrambled past Malcolm, all on their 27th, to shape the class podium.
In TC1, Birchenough’s Cooper S set the early pace, with Richard Locke’s Mini and Alice Locke’s Broadspeed GTS in her mirrors. The scrap continued until Ellie’s engine failed 10 laps in, whereupon the Locke and Green-driven cars went on to finish 15.7s apart, the coupe ahead of the saloon. Ellie's performance and pace awarded her the coveted 'Driver of the Day'.
Next stop for the GTSCC circus is Donington Park with Equipe Classic Racing on Saturday, July 8.
Report by Marcus Pye.
GTSCC WINNERS
John Pearson Jr & Gary Pearson
GTSCC CLASS WINNERS
GT2 Class Winner - Joe Ward - TVR Grantura Mk111
GT3 Class Winner - Mark Holme & Jeremy Welch - Austin Healey 3000
GT4 Class Winners - John & Gary Pearson - Jaguar E-Type
SP1 Class Winners - Nick Finburgh & Ollie Crosthwaite - Lola Mk 1
GTSCC 'Driver of the Day' - Ellie Birchenough - Austin Mini Cooper S
Royal Automobile Club ‘Family Award’ - Graeme & James Dodd- Jaguar E-Type
1st Place John & Gary Pearson
2nd Place Richard Kent & Joe Osborne
3rd Place Graeme & James Dodd
GTSCC Silverstone 2023 Results HERE
The next round of the GT & Sports Car Cup takes place at Donington Park on Saturday 8th July
A 75-minute, 2-driver endurance race
Pit Garages & Driver Hospitality
E-Mail - cars@automobileshistoriques.com for entries